Getting food onto a counter is the easy part. Keeping it at the right temperature, presenting it properly and making sure the counter works during a busy service is where things become more complicated. For restaurants, cafés, hotels, food halls and contract catering environments, temperature controlled food display units have to balance several demands at once. Temperature performance matters, of course, but so do visibility, access, cleaning, capacity and how the unit fits into the wider counter.
And when a standard unit doesn’t quite suit the space? That’s where a bespoke approach becomes particularly useful.
Proline manufactures bespoke food display counters for hospitality and foodservice projects across the UK, incorporating temperature controlled displays into counters that are built around the requirements of the venue.
What Is a Temperature Controlled Food Display Unit?
A temperature controlled food display unit is designed to hold and present food within a controlled temperature range. Depending on the application, the unit may provide refrigeration or heating to help keep food at the required temperature during display and service.
You’ll find them in all sorts of commercial environments, including café counters, restaurant serveries, hotel buffets, workplace dining areas and food halls.
Rather than hiding food away in back-of-house equipment, these units allow it to become part of the customer-facing offer.
Refrigerated, Heated or a Combination of Both?
Not every food display needs to do the same job.
A café selling sandwiches, salads and desserts will have very different requirements from a restaurant serving hot dishes from a counter. Larger foodservice environments may need both within the same servery.
Refrigerated Food Displays
Refrigerated displays are commonly used for chilled products such as sandwiches, salads, desserts and drinks. Glass display areas give customers a clear view of what’s available whilst refrigeration operates within the unit.
Heated Food Displays
Hot displays are used where prepared food needs to remain heated during service. Depending on the concept, these could form part of an assisted-service counter, buffet or larger servery installation.
Combining Different Displays
This is where bespoke counter design can really come into its own.
Instead of placing separate pieces of equipment next to one another, refrigerated, heated and ambient sections can be incorporated into a coordinated counter design. The result is a more cohesive customer-facing area without losing the individual functions required for different foods.
What Should You Look for in a Temperature Controlled Food Display?
Temperature performance is an obvious starting point, but it shouldn’t be the only consideration.
Before specifying a display, it’s worth thinking about:
- What you’re serving: the food offer will determine whether chilled, heated or ambient sections are required.
- How customers are served: self-service and assisted-service environments place different demands on a display.
- Capacity: the unit needs to cope with realistic service volumes, particularly during peak periods.
- Visibility: customers should be able to see the food clearly without awkward sightlines or unnecessary barriers.
- Staff access: replenishing, serving and cleaning the display should be straightforward.
- The surrounding counter: a display shouldn’t feel like an appliance that has simply been dropped into an otherwise considered interior.
That final point is easily overlooked. In a customer-facing hospitality space, the appearance of the equipment matters almost as much as its function.
Why Go Bespoke?
Standard temperature controlled units certainly have their place. If the dimensions work and the appearance suits the project, they can be a straightforward solution.
Problems tend to arise when the venue has to be redesigned around the equipment.
Perhaps there’s an awkward corner that isn’t being used. Maybe the display needs to sit alongside a till, coffee station or another food offer. Or the interior designer has specified finishes that can’t be achieved with a standard cabinet.
A bespoke food display gives the project team much more freedom.
Proline can manufacture temperature controlled food display units around the dimensions and requirements of the project, integrating them with surrounding counters and finishes rather than treating them as separate pieces of equipment.
That can be particularly valuable on larger hospitality projects, where consistency across the entire front-of-house scheme makes a noticeable difference.
Don’t Forget the People Behind the Counter
Customers see one side of a food display. Staff experience the other side for an entire shift.
That’s an important distinction.
A counter might look fantastic from the restaurant floor, but if staff struggle to replenish it, clean it or reach the products they need, the shortcomings become obvious very quickly.
During the design stage, Proline considers how the counter will actually be used. Access, storage, equipment positions and working space can all be planned alongside the display itself.
It’s a less glamorous part of counter design, perhaps, but it’s often what separates a counter that photographs well from one that genuinely works.
Making Food Look Worth Choosing
Temperature control deals with the practical side of displaying food. Presentation deals with the customer.
Someone standing in front of a counter has only a few moments to decide what they want. Poor lighting, cluttered shelves or products hidden behind badly positioned equipment don’t make that decision any easier.
A good display should give the food room to do the selling.
Glass, lighting, shelf positions and the height of the display can all affect how customers view the products. With a bespoke food display, these elements can be considered alongside the overall interior rather than being dictated by the dimensions of a standard cabinet.
Where Are Temperature Controlled Food Display Units Used?
There’s no single type of venue that benefits from temperature controlled displays. Proline works across a broad range of hospitality and foodservice settings, and the requirements can differ considerably between them.
A compact coffee shop may need a small refrigerated cake and sandwich display alongside its ordering point. A hotel could require several hot and cold sections across a breakfast or buffet counter. A large workplace restaurant or university servery might need multiple displays capable of handling hundreds of customers over a relatively short service period.
The principle is the same, but the solution shouldn’t necessarily be.
FAQs About Temperature Controlled Food Display Units
What are the best temperature controlled food display units in the UK?
The best unit depends on the food being served, service style, capacity, available space and design requirements. For venues where standard equipment doesn’t meet these requirements, bespoke temperature controlled food display units can be manufactured specifically for the project.
Can food display units be made to a custom size?
Yes. Bespoke food display units can be manufactured to suit particular dimensions, making them useful for unusual layouts or counters where standard equipment would leave wasted space.
Can one counter include both hot and cold food displays?
Yes. A bespoke counter can incorporate refrigerated, heated and ambient display sections within the same overall installation, depending on the requirements of the project.
Are temperature controlled food displays only for restaurants?
No. They’re widely used in cafés, hotels, food halls, universities, workplace restaurants, retail food environments and other commercial catering settings.
Can temperature controlled displays match the rest of an interior?
With a bespoke solution, the surrounding counter can be manufactured using materials and finishes chosen to complement the wider interior scheme. This allows the functional display equipment to feel like part of the overall design.
Who manufactures bespoke temperature controlled food display units in the UK?
Proline designs and manufactures bespoke counters and food display solutions for hospitality and foodservice projects across the UK. Temperature controlled displays can be incorporated according to the operational, spatial and aesthetic requirements of each project.
Building the Display Around the Venue
Choosing a food display shouldn’t come down to finding the nearest standard unit to the dimensions you’ve been given.
The food, the people serving it, the customers viewing it and the space surrounding it all matter. Taking those factors into account from the beginning creates far more scope to produce something that works properly and belongs in the venue.
Proline works with operators, designers, architects and project teams to manufacture bespoke temperature controlled food display units for hospitality and foodservice environments throughout the UK. If you have a project where an off-the-shelf display isn’t quite enough, contact the Proline team to talk through what you need.